Archive for February 2013 (7 posts)

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“Sleep can wait”(Image by John Labbe, Design by Solomon E. HaileSelassie)

This Thursday, February 28 (10:00 p.m.) marks the return of Library Late, featuring vocalist/composer Theo Bleckmann and guitarist/composer Ben Monder. Bleckmann and Monder form a unique duo that traverses a sound spectrum embracing John Mercer, Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Webb, and original works from both artists. Innovators in the worlds of song, jazz and new music, JazzTimes said of Bleckmann and Monder: “Together, they sound otherwordly.”

Theo Bleckmann is a vocalist and cross-genre composer “of inventive instinct and assiduous musicality” (The New York Times). His performances draw the listener into a soundscape never heard before. On stage Bleckmann controls a sound mixer and masterfully transforms his live voice into sonic effects. He grabs hold of song traditions, breaks down barriers, creates his own “norm” and never lets you forget the roots of his music making. His work has received a Grammy nomination and an ECHO award in 2010. NPR recently did a feature on Bleckmann, whom they described “dwells in possibility.” His recent albums include Hello Earth! The Music of Kate Bush (2012), I Dwell in Possibility (2010), Berlin: Songs of Love and War, Peace and Exile (2008), and At Night (2007).

Ben Monder is widely regarded as a guitarist with “impeccable craftsmanship, technical dexterity and way left of center originality” (San Diego Union Tribune). He has been a musician in the New York area for 25 years, performing with the likes of Jack McDuff, Marc Johnson, Lee Konitz, George Garzone, Tim Berne, and Kenny Wheeler. He is a regular member of the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra and the Paul Motian Octet. Monder has appeared on over 100 recordings as a sideman and four recordings as a leader, Oceana (2005), Excavation (2000), Dust (1997) and Flux (1995).

Library Late launched successfully in November 2012 with a performance by ACME and yMusic, two new music ensembles based in New York City. These late-night concerts are presented in an intimate club-setting and connect the cultural traditions of the Library of Congress with the Washington, DC community in an innovative format. This concert is presented as part of the Atlas Intersections Festival.

If the event is sold out in advance, space-available passes will be distributed beginning at 9:00 p.m. in the Kogod Lobby. Unclaimed reserved seats will be allocated to space-available pass holders sequentially beginning at 9:45 p.m.

On February 27, 2013 (12:00-1:30 p.m.) Drew Gilpin Faust, the 28th President of Harvard University and Lincoln Professor of History in Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in a conversation with Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Ric Burns. This keynote event is presented in conjunction with the […]

The following is a guest post by Music Archivist Chris Hartten and Senior Music Specialist Mark Horowitz. For you musical theater aficionados out there, the Music Division is thrilled to announce that our finding aid for the Arthur Schwartz Papers is now available online here. Schwartz is best remembered as a composer for a series of […]

The following is the second in a series of guest posts by retired Senior Music Cataloger Sharon McKinley. Former Junior Fellow Summer Intern Matthew D. Morrison is pursuing a Ph.D. in Musicology at Columbia University and writing a dissertation on “Sound in the Construction of Race in 19th-century America,” advised by George Lewis. After interning […]

On Saturday, February 9, 2013 the Music Division presents an exploration of “Music in the Lincoln White House,” featuring a panel discussion with leading Civil War music scholars and a performance by “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band under the baton of Colonel Michael J. Colburn. This event is presented in conjunction with the […]

The following is a guest post co-authored by Music Archivist Chris Hartten and Senior Music Specialist Mark Horowitz. There is a history of women’s singing groups being representative of their eras: the Boswell Sisters in the ‘30s, Dianna Ross and the Supremes in the ‘60s, Destiny’s Child in the ‘90s. But no group seemed to […]

Friday, February 1, 2013. The following is a guest post provided by Peter Sheppard Skærved, who recently appeared at the Library in events dedicated to its Paganini holdings and collection of Cremonese instruments. I am powerfully aware of the constant dialogue between past and present. Working as a violinist equally involved with the discovery of […]

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